


Bittersweet Spell

by prinsessa_mouse



Series: Living in Uggr [1]
Category: Metalocalypse (Cartoon)
Genre: Bittersweet, Fluff and Angst, Goodbyes, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Marriage, Mutual Pining, Past Abuse, Past Drug Addiction, Past Drug Use, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27093136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prinsessa_mouse/pseuds/prinsessa_mouse
Summary: Skwisgaar finds himself trapped in a cycle with Magnus and he wants out.(Prologue of Living In Uggr, can be read as a stand alone story!)
Relationships: Magnus Hammersmith/Skwisgaar Skwigelf
Series: Living in Uggr [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021879
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Bittersweet Spell

The wind whipped cruelly causing a few stray strands of Skwisgaar’s blonde hair to dance upon the breeze. The dampness mixed with humidity made his hair frizzy and start to wave in the way he hated.

The house didn’t change. The same light blue bungalow with the two-car garage. The small porch void of the swinging bench that once hung there. The front yard appeared to be well manicured while the tall grass poking out back suggested that the paradise of open space and gardens overgrew due to negligence. Skwisgaar always expected to pull up in front of a dilapidated dump, a reflection of crumbling sanity much like Magnus’ own mind. It surprised him how well the house looked after all those years.

“Do you ah want me to come with you?” Charles asked. He leaned against the rental car in his passive aggressive fashion.

“He ams harmless. You cans go back to the hotels. I calls you when its done.”

Charles accepted that answer. One of Skwisgaar’s bodyguards would be there if something went wrong. He trusted the younger man’s judgement. For ten years he tried to tie up this loose end in Skwisgaar’s life. The sooner Magnus signed the papers it would be over. “There are ah six pages that require his signature. I marked them with arrows just make sure he signs every page,” Charles said handing over the thick manila envelope.

“Gots it,” Skwisgaar said. With the envelope safely shoved under his arm, he fidgeted with his blonde hair that he pulled back into a messy bun. Getting to dress up like a regular jackoff had its advantages, he loved a good flannel shirt and lack of his skull belt digging into the tiny bit of his pudgy tummy. A worn pair of black Chuck Taylor high tops in exchange for his usual boots and his gray jeans basically painted on with how skinny they were. He looked cute; he knew he did when he put the outfit together. Something Magnus always liked when they were together. It seemed shallow to use his looks to manipulate him into signing their divorce papers.

Skwisgaar decided to get it over with. He didn’t know what awaited him on the other side of that door in their home. Correction – Magnus’ home that he paid the mortgage on to keep him off the streets. The nostalgia hit him when he slowly walked up the path.

How many nights did he stumble up that walkway drunk? How many nights had he carried Magnus from the car into the house?

He remembered couch surfing at Magnus’ at eighteen, moving in at nineteen and married by twenty.

They ran off to one of those sketchy little chapels that married anyone.

Pickles explained to him once that Magnus groomed him. Convinced him no one else could take care of him, he would be deported if they didn’t marry. Skwisgaar scoffed over the comment though some of what his friend said was true. Pickles knew from experience and wouldn’t have pulled him aside at twenty-one to explain it had it not been important.

He tried to stay after Magnus stabbed Nathan, but his loyalties lied elsewhere.

The abuse both verbal and physical weren’t worth it when his husband got into a heroin rage. Screaming matches that reached a fever pitch, the cops coming because the neighbors called due to the disturbance. They could be so much in love and hate each other at the same time. Their home survived many nights of upturned furniture and smashed valuables. Skwisgaar carefully kneeling on the ground to pick up the shards of glass littering the floor like sparkling specs of glitter. Looming over him his husband apologizing.

When he finally got the nerve to leave, he moved in with Pickles and Nathan. He hardly recovered the heartbreak plaguing him when Toki became his responsibility. Magnus then crawled back into his life a dope sick mess who almost lost the house. He returned home, paid for the mortgage and rehab. Heard every promise that they could return to how they were in their marriage until he got repaid with vitriol.

They met up a few times in the last ten years. Every time Skwisgaar got attached then dreaded asking his husband to sign the papers. They didn’t talk about it those times. The papers were delivered to Magnus on numerous occasions. Skwisgaar had copies too when he visited. Both knew it was coming to an end and neither of them seemed able to step up. They treated each meeting like a reunion which left them both bitter afterwards.

Skwisgaar peeked over his shoulder to see Charles already drove away and his security detail followed three feet behind him. He sighed, if he didn’t get those papers signed, he couldn’t move on with his life.

It was the same oak door with the doorbell that rang like a grandfather clock. His hands trembled after he pushed the bell. He didn’t have to wait long before the door swung open to the sight of Magnus in a dishevelled manner.

“You're early,” he grumbled.

Skwisgaar frowned, “Am ons time. You forgets about me comings Magi?”

“No, I just fell asleep on the couch.”

“You usings again?”

Magnus stepped aside to let Skwisgaar in. He didn’t need his neighbors spying on him. It took him years to finally get in their good books after all the times they called the cops to check in on his husband. Typical Skwisgaar assuming the worst. “No, I just happen to have insomnia and finally fell asleep,” he corrected. He took care not to slam the door in frustration.

“Ams sorry for wakings you,” Skwisgaar said sincerely. He looked around the landing of the house, nothing seemed different. The walls were still painted white, all the fist holes in the walls patched, new furniture in the living room. It appeared to be spotless. He didn’t bother removing his shoes as he walked over the familiar hardwood. His body ached in memory of how it felt being slammed against it.

“Can I get you anything? Coffee or an ashtray?”

Skwisgaar mustered up enough energy to smile, “Coffees, please.”

“You can look around. Not a lot has change since the last time you were here,” Magnus said walking off towards the kitchen. He noticed Skwisgaar’s security detail standing in front of the closed door. The guy was huge, could easily kill him in one shake if things got out of hand. Made sense Charles would pick a guy like that to guard Skwisgaar.

The blonde took the invitation to explore and wandered. He walked through the house as if he still lived there. Admired the guitars Magnus hung on his wall, appreciated that he still had framed movie posters on the walls. He didn’t dare go into the kitchen, he wanted to stay close to the living room and his security. He wondered if the basement was still a makeshift music studio. Maybe Magnus still had the cassettes of his solo sessions. The tracks of him singing and playing guitar. Rare tracks of him playing violin – his dirty little secret no one knew about except for Magnus and Toki.

He returned to the living room where all his best and worst memories flooded back to him. His lungs constricting in that vise like fashion. Twinkletits taught him how to cope with his anxiety, this would pass and nothing bad would happen.

“You’re still a modest violet around me,” Magnus pointed out when he returned to the living room with the coffee. He handed Skwisgaar the comical Darth Vader mug and smiled. “Black with no sugar. Can’t figure out how you drink it that way, but you’ve always been mysterious.”

“Tack.”

Magnus took the hint. The rigid body language, the blonde’s blue eyes mirroring fear as he looked around the familiar space, his shaking hands, and the way he spoke meekly all hinted to his growing anxiety. He took a seat on the couch he slept on, leaving the armchair for Skwisgaar and a coffee table to give them ample space. “Please sit,” he gestured.

Skwisgaar obeyed. He suddenly got the urge to run, his stomach soured with nausea when he looked at Magnus.

“Is he a nice guy?” Magnus asked curiously. He promised himself he wouldn’t ask stupid questions about Skwisgaar’s new love interest. It only served to emotionally cripple him. He held onto his husband like a wild caged bird. He knew the right thing to do was release him from their marriage and somehow letting go meant losing the last thing of value he had.

“Ja, I loves him. Wants to starts a family withs him,” Skwisgaar offered.

Magnus nodded. Skwisgaar basically populated the earth with children, why did he suddenly want to grow up and be a parent? That baffled him, that never came up when they were together.

“Ams hoping you woulds sign the paper, Magi,” his voice came out more pleading than he expected. He placed the mug on the coffee table and pulled the manila envelop from under his arm. He held it out to Magnus.

“And what if I choose not too,” Magnus retorted.

Skwisgaar dropped the envelop on the table and leaned back in the armchair. He expected a fight, nothing with Magnus could be easy. The man thrived on stubbornness. “Ams offerings you sometkings. Payment fors every solos I played that ams yours. I alsos want to repays you for the solos you wrotes for mes. I knows you gets writers credit and reskiduals already but this ams what I owes you,” he said.

“So you’re giving me charity.”

“Nos! Ugh, Magi. Yous never battles me in courts for takings your guitars solos or usings music you wrotes for me. It was nots right. You deserves credits or the money. I knows you didn’ts read any of the papers. I outlines it every times for you. I needs to do this fors you,” Skwisgaar nearly begged.

“Did you ever think I let you have them because I loved you and that was all I could offer you after all the shitty things I did,” Magnus shot back. The gesture was kind, proof that Skwisgaar didn’t have his head that far up his ass after all the fame.

Skwisgaar’s eyes watered. He never thought of them as gifts or apologies. They never connected the way he did with Toki when they played guitar. If he had known Magnus communicated with him that way he would have listened and eventually understood that was why he wrote so much music for him.

“I was bad for you. You were just a kid who did everything to please me and I tore you down every chance I got,” Magnus said. He leaned forward on the couch to grab the manila envelop. His desk drawer jammed packed with them over the years. The first two years of their marriage seemed amazing until Magnus got hooked on drugs and stabbed Nathan. After that he found ignoring Skwisgaar’s pleas for a divorce over ten years gave him the most control. A whole decade of trying to hold onto someone who seemed to be free to the world but was trapped.

“I loved yous a lot backs then.”

Magnus pulled the papers out of the envelop and studied them. “What if I don’t want your money?” he asked looking over the agreement of dividing property.

“Don’ts got a choice. It ams part of the deals.” Skwisgaar sighed. He wished Toki were with him, holding his hand would certainly calm his nerves.

“I want to gift them to you,” Magnus countered.

Skwisgaar narrowed his blue eyes and readied himself for the fight, “Ams payings my rentals fees on them!”

Magnus laughed.

“What ams so funnies?” Skwisgaar asked raising a blonde eyebrow suspiciously.

“You,” he chuckled. “Why didn’t you ask for anything from me? Seems like I am getting the better end of the deal here.”

Skwisgaar shrugged. He wanted his signature so he could marry Toki. Nothing else mattered in the end. The signatures held more value than anything. “You knows what I wants,” he said. He finally caved and picked up his coffee to busy himself.

“Yah I know. The minute I sign these you’re free and I’ll never see you again,” Magnus muttered. He looked over the remaining pages to make sure he didn’t promise Skwisgaar his kidneys too.

“You ams allowed to calls me if you wants. I didn’ts cut you outs before, why woulds I now?”

Magnus stared at Skwisgaar in disbelief.

“Just because I don’ts want to be withs you doesn’t means I don’t cares abouts you Magi,” Skwisgaar said sipping at his coffee. “I don’t hates you. I wouldn’t comes around all them years if I dids.”

“This new guy better appreciate the fuck out you. No one deserves the love you give when you are committed to a relationship,” Magnus said closing the document.

Skwisgaar warmed his hands around the mug. Toki did appreciate him; he grew up a lot because of the Norwegian. The urge to show Magnus pictures of Toki holding one of the yard wolves’ pups came to mind only for the idea to be snuffed out. The guy didn’t need to know who he planned to marry.

“Do you happen to have a pen?”

“Um, ja,” Skwisgaar said removing one hand from the coffee mug to pull a pen from his shirt pocket.

Magnus took the offered pen and admired it, “You’re a billionaire and you still love these cheap fifty cent pens.”

“I grows up poor. Thems reliable, I don’ts need no fancies pen,” Skwisgaar huffed.

“I’m bugging you.”

Skwisgaar downed the last of his coffee and placed the mug back on the table. “Ams sorry,” he whispered.

Magnus didn’t bother to look up. He scrawled his signature across the first line of the divorce papers then flipped to the next page.

“I means it. Ams sorry I asks you this,” Skwisgaar repeated.

“Are you going to be happy?” Magnus asked scrawling his signature on another line. “Is this what you want from your life?”

Skwisgaar sniffled back tears, “Ja, ams in a betters place and cans be better person.”

“You already were a good person before all of this. I’m sorry you lost your way for a bit of your life,” Magnus said honestly. He scribbled his signature across the fourth then fifth page with ease. He kicked himself for delaying this process, he never considered that this hurt Skwisgaar so much. On page six he stalled.

“Lasts page,” Skwisgaar acknowledged.

Magnus stoically wrote his signature one last time before pushing the paperwork towards Skwisgaar. “After you sign this you are no longer Skwisgaar Hammersmith,” he said holding out the pen.

Skwisgaar’s shaking hand took the pen from Magnus. He felt his ex husband’s eyes on him as he flipped back to the first page and started to loop his beautiful handwriting onto the line. Signing away twelve years of marriage and ten of those years spent battling. He should have been happy but somehow it only hurt. He found himself moving quickly, he couldn’t stand the feeling of being watched as he signed the remaining pages. Once he signed the final page, he dropped the pen as if it burnt his hand.

“Welcome to your new life,” Magnus said.

“Ja, welcomes to yours too.”

They sat in silence for a long time, staring back at each other. Eventually Skwisgaar texted Charles and he forced himself to give Magnus an awkward hug goodbye. The routine promises to talk uttered before Skwisgaar escaped out the front door into the bitter afternoon light with the manila envelope tucked under his arm. He riffled through his pants pocket to find his silver wedding band from Toki that he slipped back onto his ring finger. He cast one final look over the house that Magnus lived in and whispered his most heartfelt goodbye.

“Hejdå min älskling.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hejdå min älskling - Goodbye my love/Bye my darling
> 
> After speaking with Tumblr user Wumbo-Calling about the need for some more Magnus/Skwisgaar (Skwismag) content. I felt a slap of inspiration and this came out this afternoon! 
> 
> Bittersweet by Apocalyptica inspired the title and some of the turmoil that these two have with each other. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this story! 
> 
> Happy Reading <3


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